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Too Much Screen Time, 70s edition

When I think back to my childhood growing up in Stevens Point, I like to think that I spent most of my time outside, riding my bike, hanging out with my friends, playing Kick the Can and Whiffle Ball, going to the pool (which we called the Munici-pool).

But the truth of the matter is this: I probably spent at least as much time plopped in front of the TV. But nobody seemed to be worried about "too much screen time" back in the 1970s.

In the morning I watched a wide variety of game shows...everything from Sale of the Century with Joe Garagiola to Wizard of Odds with Alex Trebek. And while the Gong Show was an aboslute waste of time, I watched that too. There were also a lot of 1960s shows that were shown in syndication in the morning, like the Beverly Hillbillies. Dick Van Dyke and Petticoat Junction.

Over the noon hour, I either watched Bozo's Circus on WGN or Dialing For Dollars with Bill Kohl on Channel 5 out of Green Bay.

When I was really young, afternoons were terrible on TV. Way too many soap operas! And while I did get sucked into a couple later on (Days of Our Lives and Guiding Light), I was pretty psyched when some of the daytime dramas were replaced with game shows! Price is Right started out as an afternoon game show, as did Match Game. Anybody else remember Tattle Tales? You could watch the episode I posted below.